Not Like You've Been Counting
by GleeSavedMe
Summary: Story is set 4 years after 4x13. Gail and Holly have been married for a few months, and are now expecting a baby together! Fluff, with little, very little, drama. Meant as pure Gail/Holly romance. I just thought the idea of these two having a baby together was like the most precious thing ever.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay I usually hate these kinds of fics, the so called 'future fics' but I had this idea and I just had to get it out there. So uhm yea, here is the first chapter of my Gail/Holly story. I hope you guys like it. This could function as a one-shot, but if I get a lot of positive feedback, I might consider writing it multi-chapter. So if you'd like to read more, show your love by leaving a review.

English is not my first language, and therefore all mistakes are mine. I'd like to thank my beta _agecarbo_ for helping me to make this story even better! Make sure you check out her story _'Meaning something to someone'_ as well. It's really good!

Tumblr: _gailpeckholly_. Twitter: _gleesavedme_

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Disclaimer: I don't own the show, nor it's characters. All television shows, movies, books or other copyright material referred to in this work and the characters, setting and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners.

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**Not Like You've Been Counting**

Chapter 1

Slowly opening your eyes, you groan. There is way too much light coming through the still closed curtains for your liking. On days like this, it kind of makes you miss your old, dark room. The one you had years ago, before you had met Holly, the love of your life, who loves to wake up when the first stripes of sunlight hit your room. And, even though this kind of waking up is way too bright for your liking, you still agreed on buying light curtains because you love Holly. You love Holly more than you love waking up in a dark room. So, you gave her what she wanted without complaining. Okay, without complaining too much about it.

Reaching over to the left side, her side, of the bed, your hand found emptiness rather than the one person you wanted. You're groaning again because waking up is not the best part of your day, but waking up without her makes it even worse. You love to wake up next to her. It makes your day better from the minute you open your eyes and see her peacefully laying next to you. You decide to go look for the one person who makes your morning crankiness go away in only a few seconds.

You roll out of your warm, comfortable bed. A bed oh so comfortable, but without Holly, without her perfect, warm body curled around you, it's just that, a bed. Not bothering to put on a robe, you grab an old shirt from the floor and leave your legs bare with only your panties on, before making your way out of the bedroom. You put the shirt on as you exit the bedroom.

"Hol?" You ask in a sleepy voice as a yawn escapes your mouth. It's way too early for a Sunday morning, but you continue to walk through your two-bedroom apartment searching for your girl. Checking out Holly's empty office before making your way to the kitchen, which is on the opposite of the apartment.

Calling out her name one more time before you walk into the room. Your beautiful wife is standing in front of the kitchen counter facing away from the doorway. Turing her head for a brief second to greet you, she returned back to making some coffee, something she started before you interrupted. Suddenly, the lack of contact is bothering you, so you walk over to the sink allowing you to press your body against Holly's back eliminating the offending space between you.

"Hey you," you say as you place a gently kiss on Holly's bare shoulder. You love it when she wears that shirt that constantly slides off her shoulders. Taking in her attire, you're pleased to see that she is not wearing many clothes either because if it's up to you, you will have her back in bed wearing even less soon. Letting your hands rest tightly around her, you couldn't help but place another kiss on her shoulder. She immediately reacts to the soft touch of your pink lips on her shoulder. Your hands travel a little further, ending up on the small bump that is starting to form on her stomach.

"It's not gonna be long until you really start to show," you say, the words muffled since your mouth is still moving against her shoulder. Even though her back is facing you, you can still tell she is smiling. You can't help but smile, too.

"I know," she says, so soft it's almost a whisper. Since the two of you are standing extremely close, you feel her turning around in your arms. Her back now pressed against the counter, her hands quickly reach for your face as she plants a soft, tender kiss on your lips.

You still don't know how she did it. You still don't know how she talked you into having a baby with her. You mean, yeah, you know how to deal with children that are in danger on the job. Yes, you are good with Holly's niece Zoya and you love gaming with Leo. But, that doesn't make you a good mom. Maybe that's what scares you the most. That you won't be a good mother for to your own baby. The fear is kind of understandable given that you didn't really have the best example of a mother when you were growing up. Your mother wasn't one of those mothers that would bake cookies with you on a Sunday morning. She wasn't one of those mothers that would take you to the playground, or out for ice cream. Hell, she didn't even attend your wedding, which still pissed you off. You hadn't expected her to come since the two of you have hardly spoken after telling her about you and Holly a little over four years ago. She wasn't supportive about your relationship at all, explaining that you were always welcome in her home as long as you left "that girlfriend of yours" at home. You were a Peck, and it had been ridiculous of you to think that a Peck, especially one with your family's reputation, could start a relationship with someone of the same-sex.

You had hoped that her opinion would have changed over the years. That she would accept you for who you are, no matter what, but it was a lost case. Your mother was a woman who only cared about one thing - her _own_ reputation.

That day had been the last time you had spoken to her in private. You told her she could have the both of you in her life or not have you at all. You hated how she looked unaffected by your words, giving you that stare that said it all; she wanted you to leave her house, and so you did. The saddest part about all this was that your father always chose your mother's side. You knew he wasn't strong enough to stand up to her, and saying goodbye to your mother meant also saying goodbye to him. It had made you very upset, and you cried in Holly's arms for several days. You had always been daddy's little girl.

Even though you weren't welcome at their house anymore, your mother had tried to speak to you during several work occasions. Things like "So, when this ridiculous phase going to be over Gail?" or "A friend of mine has this wonderful son" were the only kinds of conversation she was willing to have with you, making you even more upset. You had just come to accept the fact that you had lost both of your parents, and here your mother was, trying to make you live the life she had planned out for you.

Your dad had spoken to you once. You ran into him accidentally at Steve's house. You and Holly had been there to babysit Leo, who was nine at the time, when the doorbell rang. When you opened the door to him standing there, you had been completely frozen in your spot, not knowing what to do. You mumbled a quick hello trying to create an emergency situation to get out of here. He asked you if Steve was home. You told him that Traci and Steve were out doing their Christmas shopping while you and Holly watched Leo. He said he would come back later, and you asked if he wanted to leave a message for them. Telling you it wasn't necessary he turned to walk away. You were about to close the door when you heard your name.

"Gail?" Pulling the door back open, you found your dad staring at you. "Yeah?"

"Does she make you happy?" He asked in a calm and gentle voice.

"You mean Holly?" He nodded. You had to take a moment and let the question hit you. "Yeah. Yes, she does." You had looked at him questioningly. He smiled at you and he started to walk away again.

"Just stay happy Gail." And that had been all you needed to hear for years. When you closed the door, tears in your eyes, you saw Holly standing in the hallway.

"You okay?" She had asked looking concerned. A tear glided down your cheek as you nodded, and Holly's arms quickly wrapped around you.

"You have no idea."

Your parents weren't horrible persons. Your mother wasn't a horrible woman, but your mother wasn't an easy person either. For years, you had wished to have a normal mother. One who would bake stupid cookies with you on Sunday mornings, or at least one that would be home on your birthday. But no, your mother would rather work than celebrate your sixth birthday. Sometimes, it really hurt to have a mother like yours; especially on days like the day your father had spoken to you for the first time in months. She had made your life a living hell from the day you had been born, and you didn't understand why she enjoyed to see you in so much pain. You didn't understand why she could not love you for the person you were. You just didn't understand any of it, and it made you scared. Scared that once you'd be a mother yourself, you would turn out to be exactly like her. And that was the last thing you wanted.

So yeah, maybe you thought you weren't cut out to be a mom. But Holly, Holly would be a great mom. After many nights of discussion, after many arguments where Holly tried to explain to you over and over again that you were not your mother, after every awful thing you saw happen to children on your job, Holly reminded you that didn't automatically mean that _your_ baby would be one of them. You'll never forget the look in her eyes when she told you that the two of you could do this, together.

But you were scared, so you had brushed it off.

After a while Holly had stopped bringing the subject up. She knew not to push you, so she didn't because she loved you. You both had realized that the fights about whether the two of you would have a baby or not weren't worth it anymore. They brought a lot of tension to your relationship, and the last thing either of you wanted was to lose the other. She loved you. She loved you so much that she was willing to forget becoming a mother if it meant staying with you. You hated yourself for it. You hated yourself for giving up on Holly's dream so easily. Maybe that's why you couldn't stop thinking about it. Suddenly, you started seeing babies and pregnant woman everywhere. It was so overwhelming, but confronting at the same time. Confronting that you and Holly may never have a family together. You had spent the day at the zoo with Zoya, and you didn't want to admit it, but you loved how the three-year-old had insisted on holding both of your hands, even if that meant that you weren't able to hold Holly's yourself. You loved the way she called you "Auntie Ail" all day since she wasn't able to pronounce the G properly yet. You loved how she dragged you from the elephants back to the lions all excited talking about how she wanted to draw a lion when she got back home.

Old Gail would have hated to admit it, but you had loved spending time with the little girl and Holly. You remember how both of the Stewart girls smiled all day and how the expression of pure joy wouldn't leave their face. You couldn't help but get that special tingling feeling in your abdomen as you had watched the two girls bond over some pancakes.

But, the best part of the day had been dropping Zoya off at home again. Not because you were finally released from the exhaustion a three-year-old brought. No, because of the big hug and wet sloppy kiss she gave you when she said her goodbyes. When you saw Holly with pure adoration smiling at you, you couldn't help but smile, too. The Stewart girls just had that effect on you.

Even though Holly hadn't brought up the baby thing for months, you hadn't stopped thinking about it. As time went by, you got more and more excited about the idea of having a little bubble of joy who would look exactly like Holly in your life. So after that day where you took Zoya to the zoo, lying in bed with Holly exhausted by the intense day, you had brought it back up.

"We should just do it," you said breaking the comfortable silence. Holly looked up from her book, glasses on the top of her nose, hair all over the place from your earlier make out session.

"What?" She asked, making a confused look that you will never forget. Oh God, could she get even more adorable?

"Let's have a baby together," you stated. Sitting up straighter and putting her book on the nightstand beside the bed, she looked at you with that serious look she used when she was unsure if people were actually being serious.

"Gail," she sighed. "It's not funny to joke with people like that." This time it was you who sighed. You weren't joking. You were dead serious, and you both knew it. Something in Holly just refused to believe that you meant it. You couldn't blame her. For months, you had told her that you didn't want to become a mother, and now, here you were trying to talk her into having a baby with you. Holly didn't know that in the months the two of you hadn't talked about this, the thought of having a baby with Holly continued to grow, the image never leaving your mind.

You had looked at her, willing her to see just how much you wanted this. You wanted to show her that you were ready for this, and that if you'd ever do this, you would want to do it with her.

"I'm serious Hol. I really am." You could see the sparkle in her eyes getting bigger as you continued speaking.

"What changed?" She asked, not giving anything away.

You looked away, unsure of where to look. "I just-I always thought I wasn't cut out to be a mom, but you, you'll be a great mom. Today with Zoya, I just- I had so much fun. I want days like that all the time you know. I want days like that for us with our_ own_ child because-"

Holly's lips were pressing against your own, cutting off the rest of the words you planned to say.

After she had pulled away, you picked up from where you left off. "If I ever want to have a baby, I want to have one with you. I love you so much Holly Stewart. And I can't - No, I refuse to live my life without you and our ten babies." You saw her left eyebrow rise.

"Ten huh?" As Holly's smirk grew into a glowing smile, you could feel your cheeks flushing. Stupid, stupid pale skin.

"Oh stop it, you know what I mean." You had said as you rolled your eyes.

"You really are being serious, aren't you?"

You nodded. "Yeah, let's do this, you and me." Before you could say more, Holly interrupted you once again by placing her lips on yours.

When she had pulled back, she had said the last words you expected her to say. "Marry me."

You wanted to say yes, more than anything. You wanted to scream yes from the top of your lungs, but it was all so overwhelming, and all of suddenly, you had forgotten how to form words. So, you did the only thing you thought you were still able to do as tears were starting to from in your eyes. You leaned in, whispering a soft "Yes" as you silenced her with your lips.

"Gail? Earth to Gail." You hear Holly say, her hand waving in front of your face. You dozed off again. It happened more often lately. Since you had met Holly, all of sudden you had so much stuff to think about. Stuff like the future or like perfect little moments you had shared with her that had happened in the past. Whatever it was, Holly made it worth thinking about, so you did a lot of it.

You looked at her, only to find her looking back at you. "Huh what?" You ask as you finally came out of a daze.

"What has got you thinking so hard, babe?" The brunette asks as she handed you a cup of steaming coffee. Right. Coffee. The kitchen. Home. Holly. The baby. It all started to make sense again and dragged you back to the present.

You shrugged your shoulders as you carefully take a sip from your coffee. "Oh, nothing important. Just that I made the best decision in my life seven months and sixteen days ago by marrying the most beautiful woman in this world."

You see her smile grow as she realizes that you know the exact amount of months and days it has been since the two of you had spoken your vows to each other. You glanced at the clock and smiled. If only she knew that you also knew the hours.

She places a quick kiss on your lips. Quick enough that you didn't even have time to respond. "Just drink your coffee Gail. Baby and I will be taking a shower, and you better come join us soon." With that wicked grin of pure pleasure on her face she leaves the room.

You can't help but smile. Here you are, standing half-naked in your kitchen with a steaming cup of coffee, which is still way too hot to drink. Your eyes follow her all the way out. For a moment, her beauty paralyzes you, but then the words 'Holly' and 'shower' start forming, growing bold in your head. You don't know how soon you left the cup of coffee on the kitchen counter as you follow Holly towards the bathroom.

And that's when you knew it for sure. Seven months and sixteen days ago, you had made the best decision of your entire life.

Seven months and sixteen days, not like you've been counting or something.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay so first of all I'd like to thank every single one of you who reviewed, favorited or followed my story. You truly are the best and it's thanks to you guys that I decided to make this fic multi-chapter! I'd like to make an extra thank you to my awesome beta _agecarbo_, who is truly the best, because she even manages to get me excited about getting to read my own story back.

Uhm since I haven't really decided about if Gail and Holly's baby should be a boy or a girl, I'd like to ask you guys what you want. And if you have some cute names, you should send them in as well, and I'll definitely take a look at it!

Even tho my awesome beta worked her ass of to make my story even better by taking out all my stupid grammar mistakes and all, there could still be some mistakes in this and I'd like to take _full_ responsibility for that, because they are probably my last minute changes.

Okay I already talked more than I intended to do, so I'll stop talking now so that you can finally start reading! Hope you like this new chapter of _'Not Like You've Been Counting_'! And please notice that feedback is very much appreciated!

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**Not Like You've Been Counting**

Chapter 2

"Babe what's taking you so long?" Holly is getting a little impatient waiting to drive you to work. You can't blame her; you know you're taking longer than usual to get ready. It's because of this crazy idea that had kept you up for a big part of the night. This morning you decided 'Why the hell not.' So, here you are reaching for the picture that's been standing on your nightstand for about two weeks now.

"Gail?"

"Just a sec!" You shout, but she is already making her way over towards the bedroom. You're trying to find a spot where you can hide the picture, but the footsteps coming closer are making you riddled with nerves to the point you can't focus. When she enters the bedroom, you're still holding the picture in your hand as your eyes continue to dance around the room.

"What are you looking for in the bedroom anyway? We're gonna be late you kn-" Holly's eyes fall on the picture resting in your hand. You know it's too late to hide the ultrasound now.

"Oh." You're not sure if Holly actually said the word or if her mouth just formed an 'O'. Either way, you feel like you just got busted trying to steal her favorite underwear, which also happens to be the case. You look from Holly, to the ultrasound and back to Holly, you know she is expecting some kind of explanation.

"It's not a big deal." You say, but once the words leave your mouth, you realize that it is. You're stealing a picture of an ultrasound, or as far as you can considering keeping the ultrasound of _your own_ baby at work stealing. But you didn't tell your wife about taking the ultrasound to work, so not only does that make you a thief, but also a liar. Feeling extremely guilty, you know this is probably one of the worst ideas you've ever had, which says a lot remembering how many horrible ideas you've had in the past.

"Gail." Holly says calmly. "What the hell is going on here?" Looking at the ground too scared to look her in the eye, mumbled strings of words fall from your mouth.

"Gail." She says more firm now. "Speak up." You sigh.

"It's take your kid to work day." Staring at the ultrasound in your hand, you shrug. "Or well, it's not really take your kid to work day, but Noelle took Olivia to work yesterday because their babysitter was sick. Traci and Steve organized this birthday party for Leo and his friends last week, so Traci got to take her kid to work for a few hours as well. And you, you get to take our baby to work every day. I just-" Your gaze falls to your shoes again as the fear of looking into Holly's eyes creeps back up your spine as you hesitate over the words, "I just wanted to bring our baby to work too for once, you know?" Holly is trying her hardest not to laugh.

"Aw, Gail." She says, patronizingly patting you on the shoulder. "Just because I'm carrying this baby doesn't mean it's any less yours." Feeling extremely stupid in that moment, you can't fight the blush clouding your cheeks. "You're doing so much. I mean, you even gave up drinking because I can't drink at the moment."

Your head shoots up at the disbelief seeping into her words. "Of course I did. We're in this together, Holly. If you can't drink because of the baby we decided to make _together_, then I won't drink either. Like you said, this baby is just as much mine as it is yours, and I want this just as much as you."

Holly walks over to you and places a soft kiss on your lips. "I know baby. I know."

Your eyes close as you lean your forehead against Holly's sighing contently. "I just had this stupid idea last night that I wanted to carry some part of the baby around with me as well, you know? But yeah, it sounds very stupid now I guess."

"It's not stupid." Holly says sweetly while brushing the wisps of hair from your eyes. "I just thought we wanted to wait. Keep this our secret for a little while longer."

"I know. I was gonna sneak it into my locker like a ninja; no one would see it." Holly laughs.

"You're adorable." Her lips meet yours again for a brief second. Even after four years of kissing Holly, you're still not used to that tingling feeling in your abdomen every time Holly's lips connect with yours.

"Well, I guess we can tell people." Holly says taking you completely by surprise.

"Huh what?" Your face scrunches up in confusion remembering the previous conversations the two of you had about this specific subject. "But we wanted to wait until you were at least fourteen weeks, remember? That's why we planned dinner with your parents, Steve and Traci this Sunday."

"I know we wanted to wait babe, but it's only gonna be a few more days till Sunday. We can tell people now, if you want."

"What do you want?" You hear yourself ask because Holly's voice gives nothing away.

"Well, in all honesty, I kinda wanted to tell my parents first. Let our family know before we would tell anyone else."

"Okay, so we stick to Sunday." You place a quick kiss on her lips affirming the decision as closed.

"Okay." Nodding in agreement, her smile grows wider causing you to smile just as wide.

Staring at ultrasound that you had placed back on your nightstand, you remember how both you and Holly were very excited to go to the doctor for your first ultrasound. There wasn't much to see yet. It had mostly been a white/grey stain in the shape of a bean, but you didn't care because that little grey/white bean had been yours. Oh God! If Holly knew that you called your baby a bean again, she'd go nuts. You could already hear her saying the baby didn't even look like a bean anymore, that it had grown, and in the next week, the fetus would be about three inches tall complete with its little fingers and toes.

That's why you and Holly had decided to tell your family this week. Not only because the chance on having a miscarriage would grow smaller with each day, but also because your baby wasn't just a bean anymore; it actually looked like a real baby now.

"We should be going." You say as you break eye contact with the photo on your nightstand. Holly nods.

"Yea, we should." As you pass by her on your way out of the room, you quickly place a kiss on her lips.

"Hey, Gail." Hearing your name, you turn around in the doorway confused because you assumed she would follow you. "Aren't you forgetting someone?" The easy smile on Holly's face is replaced by a playful smirk. Looking around questioningly, you started wondering whom Holly was referring to. But then your eyes land on the ultrasound resting gently in her outstretched hands.

"Baby, you wouldn't want to miss take your kid to work day." She says with a wink. You know she is making fun of you, but you don't care. Walking back inside the room, you take the ultrasound from her.

"Of course, how could I forget? Now hurry up because I don't wanna show this little one that it's okay to be late for work." As you practically force the picture into Holly's face, you feel a laugh bubbling out of your throat making it impossible for her not to laugh with you.

"You're insane. You know that, right?"

You carefully drop the photo on the dresser standing next to you. You know you're going to need both of your hands in a minute and don't want to risk damaging it.

"I'm what?" You ask defiantly.

"Insa- aaaaah!" You don't give her a chance to finish as your hands softly started tickling her sides, something Holly absolutely can't stand.

"No! NO! Gail! GAIL!" Holly yells, only causing you to start tickling harder. A laughing scream escapes Holly's throat more than once as she tries to defend herself in the only way she knows to make you stop, by starting to tickle you. You can stand being tickled just as badly as Holly, so when her hands fly all over you showing no mercy, you throw yourself on the bed.

"Hol! NOOOO! Holly. HOL! Stop it!" Begging for mercy does nothing because Holly's not planning on stopping any time soon. The two of you continue your tickle fight until you eventually fall out of the bed. Holly sits up so quickly you think it deserves a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

"OMG, are you okay? Did you hit your head?" With Holly looking extremely concerned, you can't help but burst out in laughter once again. You only stop laughing when a pillow hits you in the face.

"Hey!? What was that for?"

"Don't you dare scaring me like that," Holly says trying to keep a straight face, but her beautiful smile slowly returns to her face.

"Scaring you? You were the one that shoved me of the bed and made me almost break my neck. Not to mention almost tried to kill me with a pillow." You have to do your best to hide the laughter in your voice.

"Well you're talking and moving so it's probably not that bad." Holly smiles as she reaches her hand down to help you back on your feet.

"Well, you're the doctor here, maybe you should examine me. You know, just to be sure." The grin on your face grows as you watch Holly's eyes start growing darker.

"Yea, you would like that, wouldn't you?"

You nod. "I like working out in the morning." Holly can't help but smile as you smirk down at her.

"Too bad we have to be at work in-" She glances over at the digital clock on the nightstand. "Fifteen minutes."

"We could make it real quick?"

"You truly are insane." She says laughing, before placing her glasses back on top of her nose.

This time you let the words slide knowing the true meaning behind them. It had become Holly's way of saying, "I love you" without using those exact words. Staring at her, you can't help the big smile that's starting to form on your face when you think back to the first time Holly had said them to you at Frank and Noelle's wedding. You still see yourself sitting on that cold, hard ground wearing that fake fur coat that hadn't even been yours. Smirking as you remembered how Holly had said that she wouldn't wear your things, here she was wearing one of your favorite shirts. She had taking you aback by pressing her lips against your own that day, but this time, it was you who surprised her with your lips.

"We should go. I probably already missed parade."

"Such a great example." Holly said laughing as she picked up the ultrasound from the drawer. You take the picture from her and stare at it for a second.

"Nah, we're just showing that family time _always_ comes before work." Holly places a soft kiss to your lips.

"We have like twelve minutes to get you to work in time." You place a quick peck on her lips before leaving the room for real this time.

"Then we better keep coming,_ Nerd?_"

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The car drive to work is completely silent. You love how you and Holly are able to sit in a comfortable silence, both not feeling the need to talk. It gives you time to think. You watch Holly drive for a while. When she sees you staring, she intertwines her hand with yours, but doesn't say a word. She knows how you appreciate the quietness the morning drive to work brings. You smile at her before returning back to staring out of your window not even paying attention to where you're going.

A few minutes later you feel the car slowly coming to a stop. Recovering from the daze you were in for the past four minutes, you see that you're already in the parking lot of the police station. Glancing at the clock on the car's display, you notice that you're already three minutes late for parade.

"Here we are." Holly speaks softly breaking the silence.

"Here we are." You repeat staring at your hand, the one that's still intertwined with Holly's.

"You should probably get going. You're already late."

"I know," yet you make no effort showing that you plan on leaving the car any time soon.

"Gail." Holly speaks calmly, and you know you have to leave. It's just that you really don't want to; you enjoy the quietness the car brings. You just want to be here one more second with Holly before you go out there, participating in this hectic world you're living in.

"I know." You say unlocking your seatbelt in slow motion. Your hand is already on the door handle when you suddenly stop and turn towards Holly. "Can we- Can we just be here for another minute? Like you said, I'm already late. A minute more or less won't make that big of a difference. They are probably gonna put me in booking anyway."

"Gail." Holly starts, but once she sees your face, she changes her mind and nods. "Yeah, we can stay here for another minute." You smile for a millisecond as the two of you continue to sit in silence for a while. It feels like minutes before Holly speaks again, but you know that it's only been a few seconds.

"You okay?" You nod.

"Yeah, I just needed that for a minute. You know, you and me sitting in silence before the chaotic events of the day hit." Holly cracks a smile.

"You good to go?"

"Yeah, all good." Holly leans in and places a soft kiss on your lips. When you open the door and start climbing out of the car, you hear Holly's voice again.

"Be careful." You smile because she never forgets to tell you. Since Holly started to drop you off at work four years ago, she had started saying that. First, you'd reassure her that you would be careful, but the last three years it had turned into you giving her some sarcastic answer back.

"Nah, I think I'm just gonna get shot today. I feel like it you know." Holly rolls her eyes.

"Well, I guess in that case I'll be seeing you on my table later this afternoon." You stick your tongue out at her.

"See you later, _Nerd_." You shut the door a little harder than you intended to and wave to Holly one more time before she takes off to go to the morgue just around the block. As you start walking towards the entrée of the station with your hands in your pockets, a big smile creeps on your face when the picture of the ultrasound brushes against your right hand.

* * *

As expected, Frank had put you in booking for the day, your punishment for being late. And a punishment it was. You were bored to hell and the lack of sleep you had gotten last night was finally getting to you. This day couldn't possibly get any slower; the minutes spent standing behind this stupid desk booking people who committed little crimes felt like hours. No, correction, they seemed like days. Now you remembered why you hated running late; you hated desk-duty. You would rather be out there in the field, but it was your own stupid fault, and remembering why you were running late, you couldn't help but smile. Taking the ultrasound from your pocket, you intended to put in your locker, but since you were running late, you had forgotten to actually put it up there. You didn't care about that because now you got the chance to stare at your baby's ultrasound for a little while longer. Feeling the tingles it caused in your abdomen, you realized you were smiling like an idiot when the guy you had just processed broke the silence you enjoyed so much.

"What's got you smiling so hard, Blondie?"

Too lost in your thoughts, you jumped slightly at his words. "What?" It was a reflex; you didn't even want to give this moron any more attention than he already had gotten from you. While processing him, he had tried to touch your butt and hadn't stopped flirting with you since you had put him in his cell. Yet, here you were, reacting to probably another one of his vulgar flirting attempts.

"Do you always stare at your boyfriend's nudes at work?" He asked cocky with a sleazy smirk. You wanted to go over there and yell that you were happily married to your beautiful wife. That he could stop with the dreadful flirting because you were definitely not interested in him in any way. The need to stay professional held your tongue from snapping and only allowed a heavy-handed eye roll.

"Oh shut up. You guys are not even that impressive naked." You quickly put the ultrasound back in your pocket seconds before your brother appeared in the doorway catching your eye.

"Steve?" Looking up at him, you try figuring out what the hell he is even doing here. Since Traci's promotion to Guns and Gangs, your brother rarely comes down to this floor anymore.

"Talking about your boyfriend. Speak and he appears." You try your hardest not to walk over to the cell and punch the guy in the face, but that's not you anymore. It's something 'old' Gail would have done, not something 'married to Holly' Gail would do. Swallowing your anger away, all you can do is shrug at Steve's questioning look.

"Just let it go. Mr. Jacob here thinks he's the perfect lover for me." A shiver runs down your back as you think about marrying a creep like him. "Which obviously he's not, but hey, who am I to break that dream for him."

"Aw look at you all grown up." Steve teases.

"Shut up." Blushing, you divert the attention back to him. "What brings you down here?"

"Yeah, about that. Can you come with me for a moment?"

"Or, you could just tell me what's going on. You know since Mr. Jacob over there thinks we're the perfect match we better start sharing things right away."

"Gail." Your brother's tone instantly more serious. "Just walk with me."

"I'd love, too. Trust me, he gives me the shivers." You point at Mr. Jacob, who looks offended. "But unfortunately I can't just leave Mr. Criminal over there all by himself."

"Ey." Mr. Jacob can't hold his tongue anymore, and you can't help but smile. He has been offensive and nerve-wracking for about three hours, and you've been dying to throw some biting words his way.

Steve turns around and grabs Epstein, who happened to pass by Steve's arm, and pulls him inside. "Epstein here is gonna watch him for you."

Dov, who at first wants to protest, sees Steve's severe face. Knowing struggling would only make matters worse, he steps behind the desk and starts to fill in the papers you were just working on. You look at Dov, and when his eyes lock with yours, he just shrugs his shoulders letting you know it's okay.

Following Steve from the room, you feel more concerned as the tension builds.

"Steve, what the hell is going on?" You're getting really irritated that he's just walking along the hall instead of saying a word. Pulling you into one of the empty interview rooms, Steve's little game officially breaks your patience. "Okay. What the heck is going on here? Is it mom? What did she do this time?"

"Gail, it's Holly. I just got off the phone with her, and she's…she's at the hospital." It takes a second before the words truly hit you. Holly, _your_ Holly, who is carrying _your_ baby, is at the hospital. Feeling the color draining from your face, you're pretty sure your knees are going to give out at any moment under the weight of your sagging body as it crumples on the verge of passing out. Without realizing it, Steve's hands are gripping onto your arms to keep you upright.

"Gail. Gail." He says trying to get through to you, but you're having trouble breathing. You want to sit down, want time to stop. Taking a second to let all of this sink in, you focus on controlling your breathing. You want to ask what happened, but no words are leaving your mouth. Looking helplessly up at Steve, you wait for him to fill in the gaps.

"She's fine. She called saying she tried your phone like four times already, but you weren't picking up. She called me asking if I could get you to drive her home. I told her I would be more than happy to do it myself, but she assured me that you'd kill me if I didn't tell you she was at the hospital. Which judging by your reaction is probably true." Your mouth is dry. It has never been this hard to form words before. The first words that leave your mouth are very soft making you unsure if you actually said them.

"What happened?"

"She passed out at work." Still trying to process all this, you want to ask about the baby, but you realize that you no one actually knows about your baby. Dozing off again, Steve keeps trying to reassure you that everything is fine.

"Gail. Gail, you hear me? She's fine." And that's when you lose it.

"She's not fine you fucking idiot! She's three months pregnant!" You yell in anger.

Both you and Steve are frozen. You're scared to look at him. Scared of his reaction. But, the only word leaving your brother's mouth is a soft "fuck" as he finally realizes how serious this is. You see that he wants to congratulate you, but knows you need to know exactly what happened to Holly first.

"Did she say anything that could refer to the baby? Anything at all?" You ask hopefully fighting back the tears. You want to ask if Holly had a miscarriage, but you can't bring yourself to actually form those words. Too scared of what the answer might be.

"I- I didn't know. If I had known I would have asked. I- Gail, I'm so sorry."

"Can- can you just take me? Please. I just want to see her." No longer holding back the tears, you pleadingly look at Steve.

"Yeah, yeah, of course." He's already halfway out of the door. Hurrying after him, you reach for your phone to dial Holly's number only to hear the voicemail seconds later.

* * *

"Holly!" Loudly bursting into Holly's room, you see Holly sitting harmlessly on the bed. You take a sigh of relief noting that there's no sign of crying marking your wife's face. For the first time in minutes, you have hope that everything will turn out fine.

"Ma'am! Ma'am, you can't go in there." A nurse starts yelling at you, and you're extremely grateful when Steve walks over to her to take care of it. Being a police officer has its benefits.

"Gail." She says relieved as she wraps you into a tight hug when you're within reach. You sit on the edge of the bed and look at your wife, taking inventory of everything from her jumbled hair to her hands gripping the edge of the bed to her feet kicking slowly over the edge of the bed. Besides the paler shade of skin, she seems fine.

"What happened?" You ask concerned noticing your voice is a little higher than usual, probably because you're dreading whatever it is you're about to hear.

"I kept throwing up; for some reason, my stomach just couldn't stand any food today. Around two I think it all just became too much, and I passed out most likely from the lack of food in my system."

"Baby, I thought the nausea stage was over?"

"Yeah tell me about it." Holly says rolling her eyes.

"How is our little one?" You ask carefully.

"Absolutely fine. They just took another ultrasound, and the doctor said everything looked completely normal." You finally take a deep, easy breath.

"Thank God." Relieved, you place a hand on Holly's stomach and softly kiss on her lips. "You really scared me, girl. Don't do it again." Holly's only reply is pressing her lips harder against your own again.

"Did they give you something for the nausea? I don't want to take you home if it means bringing you back here in a few hours."

"Yeah, good to go. I even ate a peanut butter sandwich." You can't help but lean in and place another quick kiss on her lips.

"Good girl."

"Baby, I know we agreed on waiting to tell people and all, but I kind of had to tell Cassidy about my pregnancy."

"Cassidy as in 'Cassidy I can't stand her because she's so annoying it hurts to be around her, and she keeps messing with my samples' Cassidy?" You ask with a grin.

"Yeah that would be the one." Holly rolls her eyes. "She happened to be the one that found me in my office. When I gained consciousness again, I told her I was three months pregnant, and she called an ambulance right away."

"Hmm, I'm glad she did." You reply as Holly nods in agreement.

"Yeah, I guess that was the right call."

"I may or may not have blurted it out to Steve." The words fall quickly out of your mouth as your eyes dart everywhere but in Holly's direction.

"You told him?"

"Well, I kind of more so yelled it at him. He was stupid for staying so calm about you passing out, and I need him to be on same page because you're three months pregnant and you passing out was a huge deal." Holly raises her right eyebrow.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing yet. I think he first wanted to make sure you and the baby were okay."

"Yeah, makes sense."

"I'm just really glad you are okay, that both of you are. I don't think I've ever been this scared in my life, and I don't know what I would do without you."

"Gail." Holly says as she grabs your hands with her own. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here."

"I know you are. It's just that…hospitals kind of scare the shit out of me, you know?" You think back to the times you spent here after your abduction and the awful hours you had sat in the waiting room, hoping to hear good news about one of your fellow colleagues.

"I know. I get it, but look. I'm fine. The baby's fine. We're all gonna be fine." Leaning your forehead against Holly's, you let the words sink in.

"I know." You whisper softly. You look up when you hear a small knock on the door coming from Steve. You have no idea how long he has been standing there, and to be honest, you don't really care. You're just really happy that he's there for you unlike your mother.

"May I come in?" Both you and Holly nod.

"Yeah, of course." Holly replies as she smiles and greets your brother with a hug.

"Hey, how you feeling Holly?"

"I've had better days." Holly replies as she forces a smile. "But I'm alright." Steve glances over at you, and when you nod confirming that everything is okay, you see the sparkle in his eyes return.

"I heard some news from a little bird over here." He softly hits your head with his hand. "That congratulations are in order." Holly's smile grows wide. "For the both of you." You can't help but match that stupid wide grin on Holly's face. "So I got you a little something at the gift shop because well, I'm of course the coolest uncle ever." This time it's you who hits Steve on the back of his head.

"Hey!" He says offended. "Do you want my present or not?" You just laugh, and Steve grabs the little package from behind his back and hands it to Holly.

"You're not gonna help me?" Holly asks as she looks over at you.

"Oh uhmm, yeah sure." You say as you help her unwrap the paper revealing a tiny little T-shirt that reads 'I love my mom_s_'. You let your finger glide over the S and can't help but notice how Steve added that one himself.

"Yea, I kinda had to fix it a little. Good thing they have sharpies at the gift shop, too." Shaking your head at Steve's antics, you smile and walk over to place a kiss on his cheek.

"It's perfect. Thank you."

"Anytime little sis, anytime." You look over at Holly who's still staring at the shirt having a hard time fighting against her tears. You rush over to the bed to place a kiss on the top of her head.

"Stupid, _stupid_ hormones." She says smiling in between the tears. As the three of you laugh, you are just really happy that your brother is happy for you. He's the little family you have left. No, your family is not just Steve and you anymore; it's Holly now, too. Holly and her entire family and, of course, your little baby who's still growing safely inside Holly's stomach. For a moment, you forget that you're still at the hospital, but reality hits you again when a nurse walks into the room with a wheelchair.

"Mrs. Stewart? I'm here with your discharge papers." She stops walking for a second and stares at you. You want to ask why she is staring at you like you just grew a second head, but you realize that you're still in uniform. You agree it must look a little weird to have a police officer standing in a room of someone who only fainted.

The nurse looks up at Steve. "You must be the father?" She asks friendly.

"Actually." Steve grabs the little shirt that until now was still lying in Holly's lap and shows it to the nurse. "I'm just the cool uncle."

"Oh, my sincere apology." The young nurse looks a little ashamed and unsure of what to say next.

"It's okay." You say friendly because you get it. If you saw a pregnant woman in a hospital and there was a man in regular clothes and a woman in a police uniform standing in the same room only a few feet away from her, you'd assume that the man was the father as well.

"Mrs. Stewart?" She asks you unsure as she looks at your nametag.

"It's actually Mrs. Peck; we decided to keep our own names." You inform her.

"Oh I see. The nurse says smiling. "Mrs. Peck your wife should be feeling better in no time. The doctor put her on bed rest for the next two days, and I'd like to ask you to keep an eye on Mrs. Stewart making sure she will actually take that rest. I know it's seductive to get up the minute you feel better, but it's really important that she rests. As far as we could see, it looks like a normal stomach flu, so there is no need to worry. The doctor gave her some medications which should help with the nausea, but if the nausea still persists in three days, I recommend you to go see a doctor just to be sure." You nod.

"Will do."

"Good. Then I only need you to sign here, and you can take her home." You sign the discharge papers and the nurse hands you a copy.

"Great." The nurse says cheerful. "Well then I wish the three of you a very pleasant day. And you," She says looking pointedly at Holly. "Take that rest and let your girl here take care of you." And with that, she leaves the room.

"You ready to go home, Hol?"

"You have no idea." Holly smiles and climbs off the bed. "That wheelchair isn't really necessary, you know? I can walk."

"Oh no, no arguing. You heard the nurse. You need to rest, and that means that I'm gonna wheel you out of this hospital. The only walking you'll do today is from the car to our bed." Holly sighs and sits down in the wheelchair without arguing too much.

"Fine." Walking towards the parking lot, you suddenly realize that your car is still at the morgue were Holly parked it this morning.

"Steve uhmm, could you drop Holly off at home and then take me back to the station?"

"You've to go back to work?" Holly asks with a pout.

"I'm really sorry baby, but my shift doesn't end till seven."

"I'll drive you both home. I called Frank and explained what happened. He said you should take the rest of the day off to take care of your girl."

"Did you tell him about-"

"The baby? No. All he needed to know was that Holly was taken to the hospital, and she needed her wife to take care of her for the day."

"You're the best brother ever, you know that right?" You say as you kiss him on the cheek for the second time that day.

"Uh, duh." Steve says smiling.

"So full of himself." Shaking your head, you start pushing Holly's wheelchair towards the door. The three of you continue to walk in silence for a while until Steve can't contain his question any longer as you walked closed to the exit.

"So exactly how far along are you now?" Steve asks. Before Holly gets a chance to open her mouth, you hear yourself loudly blurting out the answer.

"Thirteen weeks and two days." Holly just smiles and nods in confirmation.

Thirteen weeks and two days, not like you've been counting or something.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I know I'm a horrible person for making you guys wait forever for this chapter. I had this finished last week, but since it wasn't checked by my beta I didn't uploaded it before. It's still not checked, so if you think why is this chapter not as good as the first two, than that's the reason why. My beta is a very talented writer, and really improves my writing skills, so I'd like to take responisbilty for all mistakes in this. Once my beta will get back to me, I'll upload the improved version of this chapter. Hope you guys like it anyway.

I'm really blown away by the amazing responses this fic has gotten over the weeks. I mean 48 reviews after only 2 chapters, I think that's a new personal record, you guys truly are the best. It's a big motivation to keep writing! So keep the reviews, favorites and follows coming!

I still haven't decided if the Peck/Stewart baby should be a boy or a girl, so please let me know what you think. I truly take it in consideration!

Hope you guys will enjoy reading this chapter!

* * *

**Not Live You've Been Counting**

Chapter 3

"Babe, I'm home!" You yell as you open the door to your apartment. You're expecting an answer back, but when you enter the apartment, you're met with nothing but silence. You wait a few more seconds before dropping your keys on the drawer next to the door. You would have expected your 'welcome home' kiss by now, but the apartment remains silence, even after your keys hit the hard wooden drawer a little louder than they should.

You make your way over to the kitchen, which you find dark and empty. You slowly start to worry; what if Holly had passed out again? You know Holly hadn't thrown up or passed out since the two of you had left the hospital earlier this week, but the fear that it might happen again still hadn't left your mind.

You become more worried when you find the living room empty as well. It's weird, you expected your wife to be home, especially since she had taken the day off because her parents, your brother and Traci were all coming over for dinner in a few hours. Holly had wanted to stay home to prepare dinner, so neither one of you would have to deal with the last minute stress that preparing a homemade dinner would bring after a long day of work.

Looking around the empty apartment, you drop your bag to the ground and hang your jacket over a nearby chair, calling out your wife's name once again.

On your way to the bedroom you make sure to check the bathroom as well.

"Hol? Holly!?" But there is still no reply back. The quietness of the apartment is slowly driving you insane.

Once you open the door to the bedroom, you're met with nothing but darkness. It kind of confuses you, since it's still light outside. You notice that the curtains are closed and once you glance over at the bed you see your beautiful wife underneath a pile of blankets. You finally allow yourself to breathe again; she is fine, peacefully asleep in your queen size bed.

You stay in the door opening of your bedroom for a little while longer, appreciating the beautiful sight in front of you. After watching Holly's chest rise and fall for a moment, you walk over to the bed, leaving a soft kiss on your wife lips. A soft groan comes from Holly's throat, as the doctor slowly starts to wake up by the soft pressure that your lips have left on hers.

"Hey you." You speak softly, leaning in once again to press your lips lightly against Holly's.

"Hey." Holly says smiling once she opens her eyes and realizes that you're in bed lying next to her. You feel her arms wrap around your body, you snuggle in deeper, taking in the smell you've come to love so much. You give Holly some time to wake up properly and yourself some time to rest after a long day at work. Neither one of you is saying anything, you're just lying there, completely silent in each other's arms for a few seconds, or maybe even minutes.

"I missed you." You hear yourself suddenly say before placing a kiss on the top of Holly's head.

"I missed you too." Holly says in a sleepy voice as a small yawn leaves her mouth. She rubs her eyes, trying to get the last sleep out of it before she speaks again. "How long have I been out?"

"I wouldn't know. I was at work, remember?" You say, your lips brushing against her ear as you speak.

"Right." Holly recalls. "How was work?"

"It was fine. Not too bad." You leave out the fact where you got kicked to the ground by some junkie, not wanting to worry your beautiful wife, or breaking this peaceful moment the two of you are having right now.

"Hm, I see." Holly says before nuzzling her nose deeper into your neck.

"I'm so tired." She yawns out seconds later.

"Yea well, growing a baby does that to you." You say as you place a kiss on the top of her head.

"Yea, cooking dinner and stressing over the fact that you're about to tell your parents that they are going to become grandparents once again in a few months, also does that to you."

"I know." You nod understanding.

"Talking about my parents, what time is it?"

"Almost 5.30."

"What?" Holly shoots up, you're immediately bothered by the loss of contact and the cold air that rushes over you by the loss of the warm touch of where Holly's body had been only a few seconds ago.

"Baby, come back to bed." You say needy, grabbing the hem of Holly's shirt.

"Gail, my parents and your brother will be here in like an hour and a half." The doctor says serious.

"My brother is always late and I'm sure your parents can entertain themselves for a moment." You hadn't realized how tired you were until now, when you are laying down on your comfortable queen size bed with the woman of your dreams. "Ten more minutes, please?" You beg, playing your best smile.

"But I need to shower. You, need to shower. We still have to heat up the food and-" You cut her off by pressing your lips against hers. You smirk, as the memory of the first time you cut Holly's rambling off by kissing her, comes back to your mind. You smile, thinking about how you can take this moment one step further.

"I'm sorry, you just had to stop talking." You can't help but notice how the grin on your face grows as you speak the words you had also spoken in the interrogation room, four years from now.

"I'm glad to see that some things never change." Holly jokes as she lays back down in your arms again.

"Well, maybe they would if you weren't such a rambler."

"So much talking going on, why can't we just be kissing again?" Holly complains. You can't help but match the stupid smile on Holly's face when her lips meet yours again. It's not long until you feel Holly's tongue pressing against your bottom lip, begging for entrance. You settle yourself in between Holly's legs and put more pressure into the kiss. You hear a moan leaving Holly's mouth and when her hands travel down your body hitting one certain spot, you cringe. Holly notices it right away and pulls away.

"You okay?" You nod, biting away the pain, trying your hardest to look convincing, but you know you're doing a terrible job.

Holly lifts up your shirt and carefully traces her finger along the big bruise that has started to form on the side of your abdomen. You look down to where Holly's caring touch is sort of hurting you and notice how the bruise has start to turn purple already. You wish Holly hadn't seen it, because you know that now that she has she will start to worry, big time. You know the dangers your job brings, and unfortunately Holly knows them as well. You wish your wife wouldn't have to worry if you'd be coming home in one piece every day, but you know she does.

"Someone hurt you." She states softly, so soft that if it hadn't been completely quiet in the room, you probably wouldn't have heard her. You don't know what to say back, you were never able to deal with these kind of situations well.

"God, sometimes I truly hate your job." You look away, scared to look her in the eye. Because once again you hurt her, or well the sacrifice that comes with your job did. You had told her that you'd leave 15 if that meant that she would stop worrying, but she didn't want you to. She knew how much this job meant to you, how much you enjoyed being a beat cop. She would never ask you to leave, because she knew that if you'd leave 15, you'd leave part of yourself at 15 as well. She had also explained that she would worry anyway, no matter where you worked. You could be a sales manager for God sakes, and she would worry about you getting robbed, or stabbed in the streets. She had seen way too much innocent people on her table, so no, she wouldn't want you to leave your job. She would rather have you protecting the city from criminals like that while carrying a gun, than being one of those innocent people that would end up at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

"What happened." She asks, her fingers still lightly tracing along the bruise, like her touch would be able to magically heal it. You don't want to tell her that it hurts like hell, not wanting her to worry any more than she already does. You wish she wouldn't have to see the danger your job brings sometimes, but you know you can't spare her, even if you wanted to, even if you tried.

"It's nothing." You lie, trying to cover the bruise with your shirt again, but Holly's not planning on letting your shirt go that easily, so you give up.

"Gail that's not nothing." Holly says serious. "Who did that to you?"

"Some junkie we caught selling drugs on the street. Idiot made me run 7 freaking blocks before I was finally able to tackle him to the ground. He didn't really co-operate to say the least, he kicked me in my side while I was trying to cuff him."

"But you got him right?"

"Yea, Dov arrived seconds later and grabbed his legs so that I was able to cuff him." Holly nods.

"Does it hurt?"

"Only when you touch it." You notice how Holly's fingers immediately leave your side.

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry."

"But I was hurting you."

"Don't be silly, like your soft caring touch could ever hurt me. Besides, I like it when you touch me."

"I like it when you touch me too." Holly confesses. You pull her closer in your arms, the two of you lay in the darkness of your bedroom, appreciating the silence surrounding you for a little while longer.

Your fingers start playing on Holly's belly. "Did you ever think we would ever have a baby?" You hear yourself suddenly ask. When your eyes meet you see that Holly looks a little startled by your question, to be honest it surprised you as well.

"No." She speaks softly. "I mean you hadn't really thought about having children when we met, you made that pretty obvious." You recall the event at the beginning of your relationship where Holly had asked you if you saw yourself having children one day. You had told her you hadn't really thought about it yet, but promised her you would. You weren't sure if you'd ever want children at all, but you knew that Holly wanted them. You remember how the thought of losing Holly over this had terrified you. You had never cared so much about someone as you did about Holly. You had never understand that love sick feeling everyone described when they talked about their lover, never had you ever felt the need to listen to love songs, they were disgusting, how could people enjoy listening to something like that? But then you had met Holly and suddenly all of those things started to make sense. So you hadn't said anything about it at the time. But the look on Holly's face had told you that she knew. She knew you weren't ready to have children yet and both of you knew that maybe you'd never be.

You look Holly in the eye, you are almost scared to ask what you're about to ask, but you have to, you have to know why she had decided to stay with you back then.

"So, why would stay with me? I mean if you didn't think we would ever have, you know, a baby." You ask carefully. Holly starts playing with your hand, the one that was dancing over her abdomen just a few seconds ago.

"Because I love you. I'm not just gonna leave you because we disagree on something."

"Holly, it was kind of a big deal to disagree on, you know."

"Well, I loved the idea of becoming a mother, but it's just, I love you more, you know? I mean, I could picture my life without having any children, I thought about it when I was about twenty, same sex marriage was still illegal back then and I knew a lot of people thought it was wrong for two people of the same sex to be together, let alone have a baby. So yea, I could picture my life without any children in it, I had done it before, but I couldn't, no, I refused to picture my life without you in it." She places a kiss on your hand. "I could have find a new girlfriend, someone I was sure would want to start a family someday, but she wouldn't be you. She would never be you. I couldn't do that, not to her, not to me and most of all not to us. Because I love you, baby or no baby."

"I love you too Hols." You say as you place a kiss on her lips. You rest your hand against the small bump that's starting to form on her stomach. "I'm really glad we're doing this Hol. I know in the past it might have looked like this was not my dream, that this was not what I wanted, but it turns out it is. This, you, me and this little one-" You say as you place a kiss on Holly's belly. "is all I ever wanted. Maybe I didn't realize it back then, but I'm glad I realize it now." This time it's Holly who places her soft lips against yours.

"I love you." You whisper as you lay your forehead against Holly's.

"I love you too." Holly connects her lips back to your own again, you deepen the kiss, suppressing a moan from Holly's throat. You wish you could take this moment further, but you also know that Holly's parents will be here in an hour, so against your own will you break apart.

"We should probably hop in the shower."

"Yea probably." Holly says as she pecks your lips once again.

"You wanna save some time and shower together?" Holly laughs.

"You and I both know that's not gonna save us any time at all Gail."

"Well, it would if you would just keep your hands off me."

"Says the one who kept me up till 2am because she couldn't keep her hands to herself last night."

"Like you complained."

"Oh no, I'm not complaining at all." Holly pecks your lips before sitting up and making her way over to the bathroom. When she reaches the door she stays still in the door opening and turns around.

"Well, you coming?" She asks.

"Yea, probably really soon." You hear yourself say. Holly who's noticing the double meaning in your sentence smiles at you, while she starts to unbutton her shirt.

"You are crazy, you know that right?"

"Crazy about you, yea." You mumble before following Holly, who just dropped her shirt to the floor, towards the bathroom.

* * *

"Oh God. Oh God." Holly says, her breathing getting faster and faster.

"Holly! Holly!" You say, grabbing both of her shoulders with your hands, trying to get her attention. "Stop panicking and start breathing! Your parents are going to love our news. Remember how when Jonathan and Chelsea told them they were expecting Zoya it was all your mother could talk about for months?"

"Yea. Yea, I remember that." Holly says softly, her breathing already becoming slower.

"Okay, good. Now try to remember that." You say, before placing a quick peck on her lips. "We should probably open the door, before they'll ring the doorbell again, or think that we're too busy having sex again."

"Gail." Holly says laughing, you're happy when you notice that her breathing has become back to normal again.

"What, like you don't remember the last time your parents came over and your dad accused us of having sex because we took a little while longer to open the door."

"Gail, we were actually making out back then." Holly says, the smile on her face growing as she remembers the last time her parents came over. "Besides," She continues. "I don't think he took that conclusion only on the time we took to open the door. I think that the huge hickey you left in my neck and the way our hair was not exactly in shape anymore, pretty much gave us away."

"Well anyway, we shouldn't let your parents wait forever." You say as you make your way over to the door, Holly following you. Before you open the door, you grab both of Holly's shoulders one more time, trying to give her some last encouraging words.

"Remember; we can do this."

"I know. I know." She speaks softly. You lean in placing a soft kiss on her lips. You pull apart when the two of you get interrupted by the doorbell ringing once again.

"Showtime." You whisper.

"Showtime." Holly repeats, before you open the door to meet Holly's parent.

"Mila, Carlos, come in please." You say polite as both Holly's mom and then her dad wrap you in a hug first, before hugging their daughter who's standing behind you.

"We brought wine." Holly's mother tells you with a smile. Your eyes lock with Holly's, the panic seen in both of your eyes, trying your hardest not to tell them your news right away.

"How lovely." You say polite as you take the bottle from Mila's hands. You're still trying to get used to calling Holly's parents by their first name. Ever since you and Holly got engaged they had told you to drop the formal name calling and call them Carlos and Mila, you were officially part of the Stewart family now, there was no need to be that formal anymore.

"What took you two so long to open the door?"

"Carlos." His wife said stern, but Carlos continued anyway.

"Were you girls making out again? Because I've gotta say Holly, not really your style."

"Dad!" Holly said embarrassed, begging him to stop.

"What can I say Dr. Stewart, this one has a hard time keeping her hands to herself." You say, wrapping your arms around Holly's neck from behind.

"Gail!" Holly says embarrassed, turning around begging you with her eyes to stop embarrassing her in front of her parents, the older Stewarts and you just laugh.

"How many times do I've to tell you Gail, you can call me Carlos." Holly's dad says friendly.

"Right, I still have to get the whole doctor thing out of my system." You say smiling.

After taking both of the older Stewart's coats and leading them to the dining table, the four of you have a little chit chat before the doorbell rings again.

"That would be my very annoying brother." You announce, before getting up from the table to make your way over to the door.

"Gail's brother is coming as well?" Holly's mom asks surprised.

"Must be a hell of an important dinner." Holly's dad states.

"You girls okay? One of you is not awfully sick, are you? Please tell me nothing's wrong." Mila says a little concerned. You understand her concern, the only time they've had dinner with Steve, was when you had announced that you had to go on a dangerous undercover operation for a month, and of course that time the two of you had told them about your engagement.

"No mom, everything is fine." You hear Holly say, as you greet Steve and Traci by the door.

"You sure? Your dad works at the hospital, maybe he can arrange something? Make your treatment quicker, more efficient."

"Mom, none of us is sick!" Holly says louder this time. "Can't we just have a nice dinner with both of our families together? You know, lots of people do it."

"So, you're sure everything is okay?"

"Okay, I'm leaving now." Holly announces before escaping into the kitchen.

Traci and Steve who just arrived at the table look at you, Steve of course knowing what is going on, and why he was invited to dinner.

"Is she okay?" Traci asked a little concerned.

"Give me a minute." You say, excusing yourself before you follow Holly towards the kitchen.

"What the hell Hol?" You ask, once you enter the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, but that woman is seriously working on my nerves." She says as she starts busying herself with some pans that are already on the stove. "Why you're laughing? This is not funny." She snaps as she splashes some water your way.

"Ey! Mercy! Mercy!" You say, putting your hands up in the air, trying your hardest to maintain your laughter. "It's kind of funny."

"What? What's funny?" Holly asks a little impatient.

"That sometimes through all the hormones it's really hard to see my usually oh so patient Holly."

"I don't know how much longer I can keep it." Holly sighs. "Was I really that bad?"

"She will understand." You say, placing a kiss on Holly's forehead. "Please come back to the living room? You can't hide here all night."

"Fine." Holly sighs, following you back into the living room.

You two apologize for your little moment in the kitchen and sit back down at the table. The six of you talk about work and some other light subjects, like the weather and sports, for a while, Holly escaping to the kitchen every now and then, to warm up the dinner she had prepared earlier that day. When she returned after checking the food once again, she announced that dinner was almost ready.

"Let me help you." You say before leaving the table.

"I can help too." Traci says and gets up to follow you to the kitchen. When Traci leaves the two of you alone in the kitchen, after you handed her two plates of food she could carry to the table, you walk over to Holly.

"You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Holly says smiling.

"Let's do this." You say, placing a quick peck on Holly's lips. Holly grabs the last plates of food and carries them to the table, while you grab the bottle of wine, Holly's parents had brought with them, from the counter and follow Holly into the living room.

"Can I provide anyone with some wine?" You ask politely.

"Please dear." Holly's mom says as she hands Steve the bowl with potatoes.

You fill Mila's, Carlos', Steve's and Traci's glasses. Everyone already started with dinner as you put the bottle of wine down on the table, before sitting down yourself.

"Why are you girls not having any?" Carlos asks. "Is the brand not good? You two do like red right?"

"The brand is perfectly fine Carlos, don't worry." You reassure him.

"You girls want me to grab a white from the cabinet in the kitchen?"

"We're good mom." Holly says, trying to hide the huge grin on her face.

"Please don't tell me you're on one of those crazy diets everyone seems to be on these days, the two of you are already so thin." Steve and Traci are also looking up from their plates now. "See, I told you one of them is awfully sick. Something is wrong, they never declined alcohol before, well except for when they were driving, but neither one of them is driving tonight." Mila tells her husband in a concerned voice.

"We're not sick mom!" Holly says for the third time that evening, getting slightly annoyed that her mother won't seem to drop the subject.

"Okay, so if neither one of you is sick, what the hell is going on here?" Traci asks. "I've never seen Gail Peck decline any form of alcohol before." You hear Holly taking a deep breath.

"Mom, Traci, Steve, dad." She starts, looking around the table, making eye contact with every single one of your guests as she calls out their names. "We've a confession to make." She nervously grabs your hand under the table, you see that she is no longer able to hide the huge grin that has started to form on her face and you can't help but smile too. You're so busy staring at Holly with pure adoration that you don't even notice the four other people at the table that are staring at you, waiting for the big news.

"We're not drinking any alcohol because-" Holly can't finish her sentence because Holly's mother jumps up from the table.

"Oh my God, are you girls pregnant!?" Holly looks at you and you give her a small encouraging nod, it's so small you know the other people at the table probably haven't even noticed it, but you know that Holly did. Holly looks back at her mother, grin from ear to ear, and nods.

"Yes, we are." She says smiling and you can't help but place a kiss on your wife's cheek.

Before you know it everyone is on their feet, congratulating and hugging you and Holly. When everyone has said their congratulations and returned to dinner again, which is a little colder than it should be, the questions start.

"So, who is carrying the baby?" Carlos asks. You see the sparkle in his eyes and you still can't believe that there are actually people that are just as happy as you and Holly are, to bring a little baby into this family.

"Holly is the lucky one to deal with all the hormones and stretch marks." You joke. You notice how both Holly's parents are extremely happy as they get up to hug their daughter. For a moment it makes you sad, that your mom and dad are not here to celebrate with you. But then again, your mother would probably say a rude comment about how it's not her grandchild anyway, since you're not the one carrying. And the thought of that makes you glad that she is not here to ruin the moment. Steve notices, you're a little down and pats you on your shoulder.

"Remember sis, family is not defined by blood, but by heart." He says as he points his finger just above your left boob.

"I know, you say." Trying your hardest to suppress a smile. You're glad Holly isn't noticing any of this as she is answering all the questions her parents are having. "I'm just sad dad is not here, I mean he might never deserved the title of the best dad ever back in the day, but he'd be a hell of a grandpa." Mila who seems to notice that something is wrong with you comes over and wraps you in a tight hug.

"Thank you Gail, My daughter couldn't have wished for a better wife or a better mommy for my grandchild. Thank you Gail, thank you so much." She says in between her happy tears. "Your kid is gonna be a very lucky boy or girl." The word _your_ hits you, as tears start to fall from your eyes. You're glad Holly's parents don't only see this baby as Holly's baby, but as your baby as well.

"Thank you Mila." You say honest.

"Oh Gail, of course. You know we love you, you're our family too now." You feel arms wrap around your body from behind, as Holly lays her chin on your shoulder.

"You okay?" She asks softly.

"More than ever." You wipe the tears on your cheek away and spin around to place a kiss on Holly's lips. The whole room goes all 'aw' when the kiss happens to be a little longer than you intended it to be. You pull away, but lean in and place one quick peck on Holly's lips before pulling completely away.

"Okay guys, show is over." You joke, as everyone sits down in their chair again.

"So how long have you two been-?"

"Pregnant?" You finish Traci's question. Traci nods.

"Yea."

"14 weeks." Holly replies, the grin returning to her face.

"What? 14 weeks already?" Holly's mom asks surprised. "You two kept it a secret for that long?"

"We just wanted to be sure you know. Pass the crucial first 3 months and make sure everything is fine with the baby."

"Three months? But then you already start to show a little, right?" Traci asks curious, remembering how she started to show around 13 weeks when she was pregnant from Leo.

"A little yea." Holly says proudly, getting up from her chair, lifting the shirt she is wearing a little to show off the little bump that has started to form on her stomach. It's so small, you probably wouldn't even notice it if you didn't know it was there.

"I can't believe I didn't notice it was there before." Mila says almost unbelievable.

"It only started about a week ago or so. And you'd probably don't even see it if you didn't know it was there." Holly says, quickly putting her shirt back down again and taking place at the table again.

"Well, I know it was there and I still didn't saw it." Steve says.

"Wait, what? You knew?" Traci asks, her eyes getting bigger. "You didn't feel the need to tell me?"

"Ey, it wasn't my place to tell." Steve says defensively. "Besides, I only knew about it for like 5 days, or so."

"I may or may not have blurted it to him when Holly called from the hospital." Gail explained.

"What? You were at the hospital?" Carlos asks concerned. "How come I didn't know about that?"

"I may have asked the nurses to keep it as quiet as possible. One of them asked if she should call you, but you were in surgery and well it was really not that big of deal, I just passed out, that's all." Holly explains.

"You passed out?" Mila asks. "Are you okay? Was everything okay with the baby?"

"Oh yea, we're both absolutely fine. Perfect even. They made an ultrasound and said everything looked the way it should look."

"You have an ultrasound?" Holly's mom asks in adoration, her eyes getting bigger. "Oh please, can I see it? Please?" Holly nods and gets up from the table, making her way over to the bedroom.

"I still can't believe we're becoming grandparents again." Mila says with a smile so big, everyone who'd see her would think she won the lottery, and maybe in a way she had.

"You already have a little boy right?" She asks Traci.

"Yea, my son is twelve." Traci smiles proudly.

"Twelve." Mila says unbelievable. "They grow so fast. I still remember the day Holly and Jonathan were born like it was yesterday." She says dreamy. "And look at my babies now, all grown up and ready to start their own family." Mila says smiling at you, and you can't help but smile back. You're so glad that Holly's parents have fully accepted you into their and Holly's life.

"How's Jonathan doing?" Steve asks, remembering Holly's brother was in the military.

"He's doing great. We got the opportunity to Skype with him earlier this week. He misses Zoya like crazy of course, but he will be home in about three months, so we're all counting the days for him to get home safely."

"I can imagine." Steve says. You hear a door close somewhere else in the apartment as Holly returns to the table, handing her mother the picture of her last ultrasound.

"Aw look at this Carlos." Mila says in pure aw as she shows the picture to her husband. Then they hand over the picture to Steve and Traci, who look in adoration to the picture as well.

"Damn, this is cold as hell." You look up at Holly, who just took a bite from her food. The entire table starts laughing. With all the baby news going on everyone forgot about dinner.

"If you guys will hand me your plate, I'll heat them up and we can eat a nice warm dinner in a few minutes." Holly says, getting up as she starts to collect some of the plates. Holly's mother and Traci get up as well.

"Let us help."

"No, no, please you are the guests, I can handle it." Holly says.

"You're pregnant." Mila states.

"Exactly, I'm pregnant, not disabled, I can still cook."

"I'd offer to cook but-"

"Oh hell to the no." Holly says interrupting you. "I didn't spend all day in the kitchen preparing this dinner, to let you ruin it in the last five minutes." You pout.

"I can cook." You say protesting. Steve laughs.

"Keep telling yourself that."

"No seriously, I can cook."

"Gail, heating up lasagna and making grilled cheese don't count as cooking." Holly says playfully.

"Oh." You say a little disappointed. You know it's true, you're a terrible cook, but you can cook amazing things when you really put time and effort in it. Everyone at the table laughs once again, and you don't really care that they are laughing at you, this is your family and you're glad that you are having such a great time with them. After everyone is done laughing Holly, Mila and Traci disappear with the plates into the kitchen and Steve and Carlos start talking about some sports game that according to them was on television the other day.

You take the time to grab the ultrasound from the table, you hear Steve and Carlos talking in the background and Traci's laughter coming from the kitchen. You stare at the ultrasound of your baby, _your_ baby, that still sounds a little strange. In a few months there is going to be a little baby who's going to call you mommy for the rest of its life. You can't believe how much your life is about to change in just a few months, but you also know that you've never been this ready for something to change. You notice how the smile on your face grows as you remember how you and Holly had found out that Holly was pregnant only 2 months and 16 days ago.

2 months and 16 days ago, not like you've been counting.


End file.
